Headlights on Dark Roads
by Jerkface-Allyface
Summary: Cooper and violet have been together for two years, but when Cooper dies in a tragic car accident Violet is left to deal with the aftermath. Eventually Violet/Pete
1. Lost and Found

Headlights on Dark Roads

Summary: Cooper and violet have been together for two years, but when Cooper dies in a tragic car accident Violet is left to deal with the aftermath. Eventually Violet/Pete 

Disclaimer: All rights to Private Practice and the characters belong to ABC and Shonda Rimes. If I owned them Mark and Addison would be together, and happy.

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"_Bright are the stars that shine, in somebody else's sky; green is the grass that grows, someplace different."_

Today was suppose to be the day, their day. She was going to tell him the news that would change their lives as a couple and as best friends forever. But as fate would have it, he was gone.

Gone faster than she could say goodbye; gone forever. Because now instead of their lives changing together, Cooper's life was over and Violet was left to raise a new life alone. A life that they had created; together, a life Cooper never got the chance to love.

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Still dressed in black from the day before, Violet sat at the kitchen table. Her face was tear stained, her eyes were tired, and it was obvious that sleeping had never occurred to her. She rested her hand on her still flat stomach whispering softly, "I am so sorry, Cooper would have loved you so much…" she paused, "but, I can't do this…"

Her decision was made. Cooper was gone, and a baby was just too much for her.

She looked down at her blackberry as it started to ring. The caller ID let her know that it was Pete. Most likely calling to check on her again and wondering why she wasn't at work, after all it was almost noon. Ignoring the call Violet threw the phone in her purse, grabbed the bag that she had packed the night before and the plane ticket off the table, and headed out the door.

She had never been the type to back down from a fight, to run away when things didn't go according to the plan. But then again, she never really had a plan for her life to go along with, so when things went wrong her best option was to ignore it or throw herself into her work until the memory was gone.

Running, this wasn't her.

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Violet walked through the Hartford airport, even after a six hour flight across the country; she still wasn't sure where she would go. She chose Connecticut because it was home. Hartford, where she had grown up, where she had gone to medical school, and where she had family.

Family. That is where she would go, she would go home. Violet looked around her, looking for any sign to indicate where she was in the airport, any sign to point her in the direction of the rental cars.

Two hours later she was driving down the familiar roads in her newly rented Lexis. She hadn't been home in close to 5 years, sure she had spoken to her family, but talking on the phone and actually seeing them were two completely different things.

About a half an hour later Violet pulled up to the familiar house, the house that held all of her childhood memories. She took a deep breath and opened the car door to step out.

As Violet walked up to the house, trying her best to keep walking forward rather than turning around and running again, he opened the door and walked out into the yard. Violet looked up at him.

"Vince…"

"Violet"

Before she had a chance to say anything, she felt his arms wrap around her. He kissed the top of her head, and by that point she had lost all hope of holding the tears in, as they flowed down her cheeks.

"Vi, what's wrong? Why are you here?"

Vince decided to hold off on the questions when he saw the pain in his little sister's eyes.

"Hey, Vi…"

He wiped the tears from her face.

"Why don't we go inside."

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She walked stiffly next to her older brother as he led her towards the house. She didn't know why she was so scared to walk into that house. Her parents no longer lived there, they had up and left, heading to Florida after their retirement, leaving Vince and his family the house.

Her brother wouldn't judge her, and even though she knew that she would have to face her parents at some point and time, she was glad that, that time was not now. Now she would be able to find comfort in a familiar place. Home with Vince and his wife Lynn until she could figure out where she was headed.

The inside of the house was quiet. This took Violet by surprise, because she was sure that her six year old niece Faith would be getting into some kid of trouble. The child had the strongest will that Violet had ever seen. But instead when Vince led her into the house Faith was nowhere to be found. The house was seemingly empty.

"Where are Lynn and the kids?" Violet asked.

"Lynn took the kids with her to run some errands, so that I could get some work done, here at the house." Violet looked distant as her brother explained.

"Violet, what's going on with you? Are you okay? Are you in some kind of trouble?" Vince was concerned.

"I… I um… Cooper, he died four days ago." She shuddered at the memory, and tears began to gather in her eyes. She sighed and buried her face in her hands. "I am pregnant."

Vince sat down on the couch next his sister, letting her cry, and wiping away as many tears as he could along the way. He hated to see his little sister this upset. She had one of the kindest hearts that he knew, and she didn't deserve to hurt like this.

Violet sat up, wiping stray tears from her face with her jacket sleeve. "I wasn't going to keep it, the baby I mean. I didn't think that I could raise a child alone. But on the way here I realized that I have to keep this child, because it is what Cooper would have wanted, and this baby is as much his as it is mine. It can keep Cooper with me forever."

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Pete locked the door of his rental car, and slowly walked towards the coffee shop. He was on his way to speak to some Yale Medical School students about Eastern Medicine. He walked into the coffee shop, breathing in the sent of the fresh ground coffee beans. This sent had always calmed him, for him it was a save secure sent. An escape.

The line was long, and he was tired. Pete looked down at his watch; he had four hours until he had to be at the college, which gave him plenty of free time. He looked around for a place to rest, a magazine to read, something to do until the long line of early morning coffee addicts to go down.

She was sitting in the corner on a small red couch; her feet propped up on a stool, and crossed at the ankles. Her classes were new, ones that he had never seen her wear. Her hand was resting on her swollen abdomen, and she was reading a parenting book.

He hadn't noticed that right away, the swollen stomach. That couldn't be her.

Except that he was sure it was her, and he was already walking towards the woman.

"Violet?"

The woman looked up from her book; she jumped startled when she saw him.

"Pete, I…I uh, I…hi..."

He smiled. It was her. Pete watched her as she stood, she was the same Violet that he knew and loved, except she was different. She looked uncomfortable, and tired. She set her book on the table next to the couch, and clutched her growing belly. He walked over to her, noticing the fear in her eyes. In an attempt to rid her of that pain, he reached out his hands to embrace her. Violet immediately relaxed as she hugged him.

Hugging her was different.

"Pete, what are you doing here, in Hartford?" She asked confused.

"I have a class to speak to at Yale, Violet what are you doing here in Hartford?"

"Well I guess I can't put this off anymore. Do you have time to talk?" She asked with hopeful eyes. "yes." He answered simply.

She sat down, taking a deep breath. "I am staying with my older brother Vince and his wife, and two kids."

She jumped a little grabbing Pete's hand suddenly. She placed it on her stomach. He felt the flutter of a baby kick. As suddenly as she had grabbed his hand, she pushed it away. "I am so sorry, I am just still so shocked by that feeling, and I guess I forgot that you haven't seen me in over six months." Pete looked at her, "May I?" he asked placing his hand on the center of her bump. She watched him with careful, bright eyes as a smile made its way to his face.

Not moving his hand, he looked up at her, she was still watching him. "It's…the baby; its Cooper's isn't it."

Violet nodded.


	2. I Believe

**I Believe**

"_I can see it in the stars across the sky, dreamt a hundred thousand dreams before, now I finally realize, see I've waited all my life for this moment to arrive, and finally I believe."_

He watched her sleep peacefully in the bed, her light curls spread across the pillows, and blankets kicked off the bed, in a failed attempt to stay cool. He had been friends with this woman for years, but never really "known" her. He had learned more about her in the past month, than he ever had about anyone.

Her favorite color was purple; because "it goes along with the name." she had told him. Her favorite book is Pride in Prejudice, because she could always lose herself in the story. And he now knew that Violet loved her brother with everything she had.

"Vince, he has always been there for me. He practically raised me, because my parents were to busy with their own lives to care. He loved me everyday. Everyone knew that I was Vince Turner's little sister and I wasn't popular or pretty, but Vince wanted everyone to know that I was his." She explained to him one night as the sat on the couch watching Project Runway.

Violet's favorite show, because she liked to make fun of how the models looked, and rattle off every sign of anorexia as if they could hear every word she was saying.

He looked over at her again. This time she was watching him with curious eyes. "What are you thinking about?" He got up, and moved across the room to where she sat on the bed. "I was just thinking about you." He sat on the bed next to her, "and how much I like you." He smiled.

"I like you too Pete. I mean we have known each other for half of our lives, did you ever see us being here?" She laughed the laugh that he loved.

He wrapped his arm around her, and placed a loving kiss on the center of her forehead.

"No, Violet I never imagined that I could love you as much as I do now."

"You love me?" she asked, cursing the damn hormones that brought tears to her eyes.

"I love you."

She smiled "I love you too, I honestly never thought I would be able to love any-"

She stopped mid-sentence, Pete looked down at the now wet sheets that they were sitting on, "Violet?" He looked back up at the woman he loved who sat frozen in his arms. He could tell that she was freaking out. "I am not ready Pete, I am so not ready." She breathed in as a wave of pain hit her, and she grabbed his hand to steady herself.

---

They were on their way to the hospital in Hartford, faster than he could process any of it.

"Are you okay Violet, what can I do?" He watched her; she was gripping the door handle with one hand, and her stomach with the other. She was in pain. "I need you to call Vince, he is my birthing couch, and we did all the classes together." Pete nodded.

---

20 minutes later, Violet was being hooked up to all of the machines. Pete was sitting next to her bed, holding her hand and stroking her forehead as another contraction ripped through her body.

Vince ran into the room, "Violet, I am so sorry! I got here as soon as I could, traffic was unbelievable."

Violet smiled at him, "Pete got me here." Vince walked over to her, and kissed his sister on the cheek, "how are you doing little sister?" he asked in a loving voice. "I am okay, thanks big brother."

Pete stood up, "Vince, if it is okay with you I would like to stay here with Violet..."

Vince nodded, "If that's what Violet wants, she told me that laboring moms love Pete after all. I trust her."

Pete looked down at Violet and smiled, "Laboring moms may love him, but I love him more. Thank you for everything Vince" Violet said.

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"Come on Violet I need you to push, the head is out…" Doctor Adams said.

Violet looked at Pete, her eyes were that of pain, and her cheeks were tear stained.

"Why the fuck would anyone do this more than once?" She cursed as she pushed harder. Her hand gripped Pete's tighter, and seconds later small cries filled the room.

Violet fell back into the bed, breathing deep, and letting the tears run their course.

"It's a girl" Dr. Adams announced, he placed the screaming infant on her mother's chest.

"She is so tiny…" Violet smiled at the baby. "She has Coop's eyes…" She traced the baby's fingers with her own.

"She is absolutely beautiful Violet" Pete said. "I couldn't have done this without you Pete, thank you."

"You're welcome" He kissed her, taking a few tears along with him.

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He watched her sleep again. This time with a tiny baby in his arms, "you have the greatest mom in the world little Brenna. She loves you so much; you want to know how I can tell? Because I have never seen her smile the way she did when she saw you for the first time. You are one lucky little girl to have her. And I know that even though you're daddy doesn't get to be here, that he loves you just as much baby girl."


End file.
